Renowned sports journalist and anchor Ng Fong-wing died yesterday of pneumonia caused by leukemia at the age of 67.

Ng died at 6:35pm at Princess Margaret Hospital peacefully in the company of all his family members, his eldest son Ng Ka-yui said.

"My father had served the public for a long time. I am proud of him," he said.

Ng Fong-wing was born in 1940 in Macao. He kicked off his 45-year career as a journalist working as a sports reporter for Hong Kong Standard in 1960. He joined Commercial Radio as a news reporter in 1962, and TVB in 1982 as a sports journalist until he retired on June 30, 2005, from the position of an anchor for the station's prime-time evening news.

He was renowned for his humorous anchor style that appealed even to audiences not interested in sports and set a trend in the industry that is still being followed to date.

His most famous quote is "the ball is round", meaning the result of every game is unpredictable until it is over.

His son once asked him why he only anchored for three minutes a day, Ng replied, "I worked for 10 hours a day, but I showed you the most exciting three minutes."

He said his humorous anchor style allowed him to release his anger against office politics, and he criticized the media of hiring news anchors with a pretty face and nothing else.

Former TVB news department head Raymond Wong said he was saddened by Ng's death.

(HK Edition 04/18/2008 page1)